In the News

Voters in Colorado on Tuesday "soundly defeated" a proposed amendment that would have defined a fertilized egg as a person in the state constitution, the AP/Chicago Tribune reports. Amendment 48 would have defined a person as "any human being from the moment of fertilization" (Slevin, AP/Chicago Tribune, 11/5). The amendment was losing 73% to 27% with 87% of precincts reporting (CNN.com, 11/5). Opposition to the measure came from voters of all age groups and majorities of men and women. Support for the measure was predominantly shown from white evangelical and Republican voters (AP/Chicago Tribune, 11/5).

According to USA Today, Colorado Right to Life was a major proponent of the amendment, while NARAL Pro-Choice America and other opponents said that abortion could have been criminalized and research on embryonic stem cells halted under the measure (Koch, USA Today, 11/5). In addition to making abortions illegal, opponents also said Amendment 48 could have outlawed fertility treatments and some forms of contraception (AP/Chicago Tribune, 11/5).

Video Round Up

N.C. Gov. To Break Campaign Promise on Abortion Bills

AP/ABC News 11's Ed Crump discusses how North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) will break his campaign pledge to not sign any abortion restrictions if he signs a 72-hour mandatory delay bill into law. Watch the video

Datapoints

See where states rank on reproductive rights across the U.S. Plus, find out how states are imposing more restrictions on and limiting women's access to abortion. Read more

At A Glance

"Not since before Roe v. Wade has a law or court decision had the potential to devastate access to reproductive health care on such a sweeping scale."

— Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, on a ruling from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld major portions of a Texas antiabortion-rights law. Read more